The King and Queen of Oahu (a mcRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Danny has an interview with Steve and Catherine's adoption case worker.


_Mari & Ilna-you guys are the absolute best! Thank you for everything! _

_REAL Worlders-you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the support and encouragement._

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**The King and Queen of Oahu** **(1/1)**

Danny opened his front door and was immediately greeted by the warm smile of the woman standing on his porch. He wasn't sure what he had expected her to look like but for some reason images of Cruella DeVille kept popping into his head. In reality she looked nothing like a cartoon villain. She was average height, pretty in wholesome kind of way, her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a simple gray skirt and white blouse.

Steve and Catherine had both assured him she was very nice during their initial meeting and she seemed pleasant enough when she called to set up the appointment for the interview. Still, Danny knew this woman held the key to his best friends' adoption plans and that made him a little edgy. He teased Steve a lot about being a maniac, but he and Catherine were exemplary parents and Danny wanted to make sure he conveyed just that to their caseworker.

"Detective Williams?" the woman asked as she extended her hand. "I'm Estella Longo. I'm the adoption caseworker for Commander McGarrett and Lieutenant Rollins."

Danny shook her hand. "Please come in."

"I'm sorry if I'm a little early," she said as she stepped into the living room. "I overestimated how long it would take me to get here in late afternoon traffic."

"I've been on the island for nine years and I still do that," Danny admitted. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Seems like we arrived around the same time," Estella said as she took a seat on the couch. "My husband is a doctor and we relocated here when he got a job offer at the VA. We're both originally from Connecticut."

"New Jersey for me." Danny smiled as he took a seat in the armchair facing the couch. "In fact, my grandmother's last name is Longo. Do you have any relatives in Jersey?"

Steve and Catherine had called Danny immediately after Estella's first visit and excitedly relayed the news about her last name. They thought it had to be a good sign and Danny agreed. The luck of Nonna was gonna create smooth sailing for the entire process.

"No," Estella answered. "My husband is an only child of two only children. His parents died in an accident 10 years ago and the lack of extended family was one of the things that made relocating all the way across the country an easy decision. That and the fact that Connecticut winters are brutal."

Danny chuckled. "I hear ya. Personally, it took awhile for me to get used to all this endless sunshine but I must admit, it's grown on me."

"I got used to it in no time flat. I am so not a snow kind of person." Estella's easy conversational manner put Danny at ease immediately. "So, you still have family back east?"

"Lots. My grandmother, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews. I get back to see them as often as I can and luckily they're able to visit here from time to time."

"Sounds like a great arrangement."

"Can I get you something to drink?" Danny offered. "I have iced tea, lemonade, water."

"No, thank you, I'm fine." She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a file folder and a legal pad. "I don't want to take up any more of your time than necessary so maybe we should get right to it. I promise this will be painless." She smiled. "I'm going to ask you some questions about the Commander and the Lieutenant and I just need you to answer them as completely

and honestly as possible. If I ask something you don't know the answer to feel free to tell me that too."

Danny leaned back slightly and nodded. "Fire away."

"When did you first meet Steve and Catherine?"

"I met Steve almost ten years ago," Danny said. "I hadn't been on the island long. I'd just moved here to be near my daughter who had relocated here with my ex-wife and her new husband. It was a little while after that I met Catherine when she got stationed at Pearl."

"Did you begin working with Steve right away?"

"Pretty much." Danny nodded.

"You've been partner's the whole time?"

Danny nodded. "Yes."

"What's he like as a partner?"

"He's …" Danny considered his words carefully. "Like no one I've ever known before. He does things you think no one in their right mind would even consider trying to do. At first I thought he was a maniac who possibly had a death wish. I said that out loud more than once. But over the years I've come to realize that's not the case at all."

"It's not?" Estella's pen was poised above the legal pad but she had not written anything down yet. It was like she was giving Danny a chance to complete his thought as opposed to jumping on certain words out of context. He appreciated that. It made him feel as though he didn't need to question every word he used.

"Not at all. The thing about Steve is he's a trained Navy SEAL. He has confidence in his own abilities and rightfully so. When he's chasing a suspect, or rushing to save a victim, he doesn't stop to question whether he should jump out a second story window or grab onto the hood of a moving car. He just does it. Because he trusts his training and the time he spends keeping himself in top shape."

Estella scribbled a few notes.

"He's not reckless," Danny continued. "Far from it. It just looks that way at first to those of us who have never seen people with his level of both physical and mental training before. The more I got to know him, the more I came to realize he considers every move carefully. He's just trained to do it at warp speed."

"His military records are quite impressive," Estella said. "The parts I could read that weren't redacted as top secret that is."

"I've heard some stories from people that served with him, but I guarantee you'll never hear Steve boast about it," Danny replied. "He does the things he does because they're the right thing to do, not because he expects praise for it."

Estella nodded. "What about Catherine? You got a chance to work with her for a while, right?"

Danny smiled and nodded. "She's a first-rate investigator. And a woman who can handle herself physically. I never worried for a minute when we were in the field together. She always had my back. She also has an incredible heart and an ability to connect with victims and reassure them that everything is going to be ok and they'll get through it and be able to put their lives back together."

"She left for the governor's office when she got pregnant?"

"Actually she decided, or rather they decided, to take the job as chief of staff as soon as they started trying for a family. They talked it out and knew that one of them would have to take a less dangerous position if they were going to have kids and then the job with Lea Kekoa presented itself and everything just kind of fell into place."

"Sounds like a prudent decision." Estella made a few more notes.

"It was," Danny agreed. "Most of Catherine's career had been spent in the field. She did multiple tours of Afghanistan and spent long periods of time at sea. She had never worked in an office in her life. But once the decision to take the chief of staff position was made, she dedicated herself to learning everything she needed to know about working in politics and it shows. She's really great at her job."

"More than a few people have commented to me that it's hard to believe she's a political novice," Estella said.

"Once she makes up her mind to do something, she does it 100%." Danny smiled. "That's the thing about Steve and Catherine. I'm not sure if it's the military training or just who both of them are as people but they don't make decisions without fully thinking things out. They really take their time and talk to each other. I kid them a lot about having some kind of non-verbal shorthand and a weird language of their own but it's just teasing. They never jump into anything unprepared. And they're almost always on the same page but if they're not, they talk it out until they reach a compromise. And then it's full steam ahead."

"Sounds admirable."

Danny snorted. "My girlfriend Gabby always calls them #relationshipgoals."

Estella chuckled. "Tough to live up to, huh?"

"I've given up trying," Danny said good-naturedly.

Estella's face turned more serious. "In his line of work Commander McGarrett must make a lot of enemies."

"It's an occupational hazard," Danny said with a nod. "But all I can say is I've never met someone more alert when it comes to any threats or any signs of trouble and he does his best to neutralize them immediately. As far as security measures for Catherine and Angie—he takes every precaution."

Estella made a few more notes. "Have you ever known them to have any financial problems?"

"Never." Danny shook his head adamantly. "As a matter of fact, when I had a problem with someone stealing my identity and reporting me dead a few years ago they helped me stay afloat until I could things straightened out."

"It seems like the three of you are really close," Estella observed.

Danny took a deep breath. He wanted to find a way to help Estella see the Steve and Catherine he knew at the deepest level. Something more than the shiny surface picture.

"We are," Danny leaned forward. He wasn't sure how to get his point across so he decided to just open his mouth and, as often happens with him, the words just started to pour out. "My daughter is my life, Ms. Longo. She's the reason I draw breath. I love her more than I could ever describe. I had no idea love could be this big before I became a father. Grace is my everything. Her safety and happiness are my number one priority. Always."

He picked up the tv remove off the coffee table in front of him and twirled in his hand for a few seconds then put it back and spoke again.

"There is never a minute I worry about her when she's with Steve and Catherine. Separately or together. And trust me, she spends a lot of time with them. When she's with them I have no doubt that she is not only physically safe but also loved, and supported, and encouraged, and lifted up and everything a father would want for his daughter. Grace thinks both of them walk on water and I'm fine with that. There's not one trait either of them has I worry about her emulating."

Years of doing this kind of work had made Estella quite intuitive. She could sense he had more to say so she remained silent and after a minute to gather his thoughts, Danny continued.

"They're not perfect," he said. "No one is. When they make a mistake, they immediately own up to it, learn from it and move on. There's something Catherine always tells Grace - 'A mistake should be your teacher, not your attacker'. They've showed her that it's ok to not be perfect. You don't beat yourself up over it. The important thing is to always strive to be better. So my daughter is not afraid to come to her mother, or me, or Steve and Catherine, or anyone in her life, and admit she made a mistake and talk out what she learned from it."

"That's a wonderful sense of security for a teenager to feel," Estella said.

"Her mother and I work hard to teach her that lesson and to let her know there's nothing she can't talk to us about. There is no doubt in my mind that having it reinforced by people she admires as much as Steve and Catherine has really helped make it part of who she is."

"I have to admit, after reading all the background material on them, they're a very impressive couple."

"That's an understatement. They could be the king and queen of Oahu if they wanted to. Ruling along with Princess Angie. You'd be amazed how many people want a piece of them. And are willing to make big promises to get it. They turn down dozens of requests for media coverage every month. Companies want them to endorse products. Magazines want to do spreads on their home and their relationship. Everyone wants the gorgeous power couple to be on their cover."

"I would imagine they're very in demand."

"The thing is I only know that because reporters and editors get so tired of hearing no from them that they come to me thinking I can use my influence to get them to agree. They offer money, and publicity, and exposure for a pet cause, and free products and whatever they can think of to sway Steve and Catherine. But it's never going to work. They're not interested. You know why?"

Estella smiled. "Why?"

"Because the two of them just want to do good work that benefits all the citizens of Hawaii. That makes the streets safer and makes life better and gives people hope for a brighter future. And when the work day is over all they want to do is spend time together, with Angie, with any additional kids they may have, and with friends and family. They're not interested in fame at all and they only care about money in terms of having enough to raise a family."

Estella slipped her pen and legal pad back into her tote bag. "I think I have everything I need. I'd like to talk to your daughter if that's possible. I'd want your permission of course being as she's a minor."

"I'm sure she'd be glad to talk to you. She loves her Aunt Catherine and Uncle Steve and is very excited at the thought of them expanding their family."

"I'll call again in a week or so and set up a time."

"Sounds good." Danny walked her to the door. "I just want to say I don't think you could find two better parents than Steve and Catherine. They're great with Angie. She's a very happy, healthy, well-adjusted two-year-old."

"That's definitely the picture I'm getting." Estella smiled. "I'll be talking to Lieutenant Commander Stagler next."

"Carrie?" Danny chuckled. "Make sure you ask her to tell you the story of how Steve and Catherine met and how they insisted they were 'just friends' when they were at Annapolis. Her description of the mooney eyes and the toe scuffing is hysterical."

"I'll make sure I ask." Estella shook his hand. "You've been very helpful, Detective Williams. I hope to see you again."

Danny grinned. "Well, if not at Grace's interview then definitely at the adoption proceedings."

Estella barked a laugh. "You're a good friend, Danny!"

He closed the door and his eyes landed on the side table Steve had given him as a birthday present. "More than a friend," he said to the empty room. "We're family."

**THE END**

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